(PRESS RELEASE) -- As Bellator Fighting Championships prepares to
invade Memorial Hall in Kansas City on October 29th, the fight card
has been finalized with a number of preliminary fights featuring
some explosive local talent sure to make the Kansas City faithful
proud. Saturday will also feature the Kansas City return of
Bellator Welterweight Champion Ben Askren, who puts his title on
the line against former UFC veteran and Season 4 Tournament winner
Jay Hieron. The Season 5 Heavyweight Tournament also marches on as
semifinalists Ron Sparks and Eric Prindle battle it out for a spot
in the finals, while Neil “Goliath” Grove takes on Thiago Santos to
move one step closer to a title shot against current Bellator
Heavyweight Champion Cole Konrad. The action will be LIVE on MTV2
and in commercial-free HD on EPIX2 beginning at 9 p.m. ET/ 8 p.m.
CT. First fight will take place at 7 p.m. ET/ 6 p.m. CT and will be
streamed LIVE and FREE around the world on Spike.com. Tickets for
the event can be purchased on Ticketmaster.com and at the Memorial
Hall Box Office.

Staying in the Halloween spirit, fans are encouraged to show off
their best costumes on fight night as there will be two $500 prizes
for best male and female costumes. Winners will be shown LIVE on
MTV2 and EPIX2 and will be guests of honor at the Bellator 56
after-party in Memorial Hall after the event. The only way into the
highly-anticipated after-party is to buy a ticket to Bellator
56.

A 2008 U.S. Olympian and former ESPY award nominee for Best
Collegiate Athlete, Askren, the reigning Bellator Welterweight
Champion, will put his title on the line for the first time since
capturing the crown at Bellator 33 over then champion Lyman Good.
While the fight may be the toughest test of his young MMA career,
the University of Missouri product and two-time NCAA Division I
national wrestling champion should feel right at home fighting in
Kansas City.

“It’s an unreal feeling knowing I’ll be fighting so close to
Mizzou,” said Askren. “It won’t affect me during the fight, I could
beat Jay in his living room, but to be able to celebrate with all
my friends and family after the win is going to be awesome.”

Missouri native and long-time Bellator veteran Rudy “Bad News”
Bears will square off against Kansas resident Marcos Navarro in a
welterweight fight, while the undefeated Jeremy Spoon will look to
keep his record spotless with a victory over former Featherweight
Tournament participant Adam Schindler.

“Kansas City has been a spectacular home for Bellator with huge,
loud crowds and incredible fights,” said Bellator Chairman &
CEO Bjorn Rebney. “But, this event Saturday night is the greatest
event we’ve ever brought to KC with our partners from MTV.”

Light Heavyweight Dan Spohn will look to keep his momentum going in
a scrap with Kelvin Tiller. Spohn left fans stunned with a
nine-second knockout victory in his Bellator debut and will be
looking for the same result Saturday at Memorial Hall.

St. Louis native and undefeated lightweight E.J. Brooks will take
on William De Souza, while Jacob Aiken will battle Jeimeson Saudino
in a featherweight affair.

Odessa, Missouri native Owen Evinger will fight Aaron Ely, who is
making his Bellator debut and will be looking to impress. The night
will round out with Derrick Ruffin battling Daniel Gallemore in a
heavyweight fight sure to produce fireworks.

For more information, visit Bellator.com, follow Bellator on
Twitter @BellatorMMA or on Facebook at
www.facebook.com/Bellator

About Bellator Fighting Championships

Bellator Fighting Championships is a Mixed Martial Arts promotional
company headquartered in Chicago. Bellator’s founder/CEO, Bjorn
Rebney, is an experienced fighting sports and entertainment
professional with a deep commitment to the purity and integrity of
the sport of MMA and its athletes. Bellator Fighting Championships’
executive team is comprised of top industry professionals in the
areas of live event production, television production, fighter
relations, venue procurement, sponsorship creation/development,
international licensing, marketing, advertising, publicity and
commission relations.

About MTV2

MTV2 is a man's best friend, available in nearly 80 million homes
and with the highest concentration of males 12-24 and 12-34 on TV
today. A vibrant mix of music, lifestyle and action sports
programming, MTV2 has reflected the habits and behavior of young
people since its launch in 1996. MTV2 is part of MTV Networks, a
unit of Viacom, one of the world’s leading creators of programming
and content across all media platforms.

About EPIX

EPIX, a joint venture between Viacom Inc. (NYSE: VIA and VIA.B),
its Paramount Pictures unit, Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer Studios Inc. (MGM)
and Lionsgate (NYSE: LGF), is a next-generation premium
entertainment channel, video-on-demand and online service launched
on October 30, 2009. With access to more than 15,000 motion
pictures spanning the vast libraries of its partners and other
studios, EPIX provides a powerful entertainment experience with
more feature films on demand and online and more HD movies than any
other service. It is the only premium service providing its entire
monthly line-up of new Hollywood titles, classic feature films,
original series, music and comedy specials through the linear
channel, video-on-demand and online at EpixHD.com, the leading
online destination for movies.

EPIX has made the commitment to deliver the industry's most
expansive online collection of movies, making more than 3,000
titles available on EpixHD.com. The service is available to over 30
million homes nationwide through distribution partners including
Charter Communications, Cox Communications, DISH Network, Mediacom
Communications, NCTC, Suddenlink Communications and Verizon FiOS.